Real Estate

A Whopping 31 Open Houses Around Watertown This Weekend

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Home seekers have an enormous choice of properties to visit this weekend in Watertown. $799,900 – 13-15 Lawrence St., 2 unit, 14 total room, 6 total bedroom 2 family, Open Houses: Saturday 12-2 Sunday 11:30-1:30

$829,000 – 92 Standish Road, 9 room, 3 bed, 1.5 bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$749,000 – 227 Orchard St., 10 room, 4 bed, 2.5 bath colonial, Open Houses: Saturday 11-1 Sunday 12-2

$523,000 – 11 Nichols Ave. Unit 1, 5 room, 2 bed, 1.5 bath other, Open House: Saturday 12-2

$539,100 – 11 Nichols Ave. Unit 2, 5 room, 3 bed, 1.5 bath other, Open House: Saturday 12-2

$599,900 – 19 Warren St., 7 room, 3 bed, 2.5 bath cape, Open Houses: Saturday 11-1 Sunday 11-1

$479,000 – 15 Grandview Ave. Unit 15, 7 room, 3 bed, 1.5 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 2-3:30 Sunday 2-3:30

$509,999 – 55 Dexter Ave.

Police/Fire

UPDATED: 3 Injured, 16 Lose Home in Fire Near Watertown/Newton Line

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Firefighters from six communities battled heavy smoke and flames, the elements and a broken hydrant to put a three-alarm fire on Williams Street, Thursday night. The alarm for the blaze at 27 Williams St. came in at about 6 p.m., and when the Watertown Fire Department arrived they found heavy smoke coming from the back of the three-story, multi-family home, said Watertown Deputy Fire Chief Rob Iannetta. Locating the fire, however, was not so easy. “Smoke was showing in the back but the fire was actually in the front,” Iannetta said.

Schools

Find Out About Potential School Start Time Changes at Forums

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The Watertown Public Schools could make some significant changes to the school start times, moving the middle and high schools later and the elementary schools earlier. These changes will be discussed at a set of upcoming forums.

The School Committee received a report from the committee looking into start times over the summer, where a couple of options were laid out (read more here). On Monday, the School Committee was told that the district will take a serious look at the option to start Watertown High School and Watertown Middle School at 8:30 a.m. and moving the elementary schools to start at and earlier hour. Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out the following letter about the school start time changes and the forums:

The Watertown Public School District is currently considering changes to the start and end times for all of our schools beginning in the fall of 2018. The reasons for considering this move are many with the most important being to improve educational opportunities for all of our students based upon optimal times for student learning to occur.

Government

Town Council and Town Manager Will Appoint People to Community Preservation Committee

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After more than an hour’s debate Tuesday night, the Town Council decided who will appoint the four at-large members of the committee that will recommend how to spend the funds from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) after coming to a compromise, of sorts. The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) was created when Watertown voters approved the CPA in November 2017, and will send recommended projects to be funded by the CPA money to the Town Council for final approval. Five members of the CPC are required to be on the committee by the state statute, but communities can add other members. Watertown decided to have four at-large members, but the Rules and Ordinances subcommittee could not agree on how the four would be appointed. The group that put the CPA on the ballot, Invest in Watertown, pushed for the four seats to be appointed by the Town Council.

Police/Fire

Watertown’s Fallen Firefighter Added to Mass. Fallen Firefighter Memorial

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Yesterday afternoon Firefighter Joseph Toscano, who died in the line of duty in March, was added to the Ring of Honor at the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighter Memorial located behind the State House. #massachusetts #fire #lodd @massgovernor @the_pffm
A post shared by Capt. Ryan Nicholson (@watertownfire) on Sep 9, 2017 at 7:24am PDT

Watertown Firefighter Joseph Toscano’s name was added to the memorial to firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Toscano died while fighting a fire on Merrifield Avenue on March 17, 2017. On Friday, his colleagues attended the ceremony at the Massachusetts Fallen Firefighters Memorial outside the State House in Boston. Gov. Charlie Baker spoke at the 1oth annual ceremony.

Sports

Watertown Field Hockey’s Historic Streak Ends with Loss to Winchester

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Watertown field hockey team’s record of success became legendary. A Raider win seemed so reliable that you could set your watch to it. But the day that seemed like it may never come arrived Monday when Watertown lost its first game in more than eight years. The Raiders’ streak extended for 184 games, setting a new national record unbeaten steak. At the same time, they set the standard high school field hockey programs by winning 124 straight.

Schools

Timeline Set Out for Hiring Designer for Reconstruction of Watertown’s Elementary Schools

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The School Committee set up a timeline for the planning for the reconstruction of Watertown’s three elementary schools. The Watertown Public Schools have taken the first small steps toward renovating all five schools, an effort known as Building for the Future. The Building for the Future team, a group of 10 school and town officials, laid the next steps in a time table that would have a designer in place by the beginning of December. In August, the School Committee and Town Council decided to start with the elementary schools, continue to seek state funding to help pay for renovation of Watertown High School and work on Watertown Middle School a few years down the line. The schools will likely be renovated rather than being replaced with new buildings, but there will probably be some new additions at some schools.

Business

Watertown-Belmont Chamber Announces New Co-Presidents

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The Watertown-Belmont Chamber of Commerce announced some changes made over the summer. 
The Chamber sent out the following letter:

We are writing to keep you up to date with changes at the Chamber. Carolyn Zaleski has stepped down as Chamber president to have time to devote to new opportunities. We thank her for her leadership. New co-presidents are Bob Airasian, realtor with William Raveis Real Estate, and Mike Albano, Executive Vice President & CFO with Mount Auburn Cemetery. Both are past presidents. Paul Airasian is leading community relations for the Chamber. As we transition to new shared space at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 14 Sawin Street, in Watertown, please do not hesitate to contact us with any of your needs by calling the Chamber telephone number at (617) 926-1017, leave a message and we will return your call.  Also, before visiting the shared location, an appointment is required and can be made by calling or sending an email.